Protecting lives and public assets through government vehicle insurance

Honourable Speaker requested to speak on the exemption of government vehicles from compulsory third-party insurance. The speaker emphasizes that a family's grief does not depend on the vehicle's number plate. The government vehicle exemption dates back to the 1958 Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act. The Act mandates third-party insurance for all vehicles, but the government is exempt from this rule.

In 2025, 2,949 Ghanaians died in road crashes, a 18.2% increase from 2024. The NRSA estimates that crashes cost the nation over $230 million annually. The state's vehicles are not protected from crashes. In 2018, a Senior Minister stated that government vehicles were not insured to pay compensation. In 2022, the Public Accounts Committee found that over 18,000 government vehicles were uninsured.

In July 2024, a GETFund school bus involved in a crash without insurance. The Minister for Health announced that the entire national ambulance fleet was uninsured. The speaker argues that self-insurance without a ring-fenced fund is not a safeguard. Insurance provides compensation as a right, not a favour. The speaker urges the government to bring amendments to the Act, direct ministries to insure their fleets, and provide for the premiums in the 2027 Budget.